Matt's Weather Rapport is written by Vermont-based journalist and weather reporter Matt Sutkoski. This blog has a nationwide and worldwide focus, with particular interest in Vermont and the Northeast. Look to Matt's Weather Rapport for expert analysis of weather events, news, the latest on climate change science, fun stuff, and wild photos and videos of big weather events. Also check for my frequent quick weather updates on Twitter, @mattalltradesb

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Cool Video: What If All Of Earth's Ice Melted?

Low lying sections of Miami now occasionallyflood even without storms dueto sea level rises largely brought on by climate change

We know that global climate change is making sea level rise, which makes things perilous for those living near the ocean. And since a billion or more people could eventually be threatened by rising seas, this is of course, worrisome.

Business Insider put out a video, which takes us on a tour around the globe, showing how geography would change if all the ice on Earth melted.

That would mean Antartica would be barren. The massive ice caps in Greenland -- gone. The deep blue sea would glimmer high in the Arctic.

And huge coastal cities around the world would drown.

Of course, not all the Earth's ice will melt in our lifetime, our our kids' or our grandkids' lifetime. Not even close, not even under the worst case global warming scenarios.

Still, some of the glacial, Greenland and Antarctic ice will melt in the coming years and decades, even in best case scenarios of global warming. Which means sea levels will rise, and coastal cities and towns around the world will face more and more flooding as time goes by.

Over at Skeptical Science, we learn that sea levels are expected to rise by anywhere from 50 centimeters to 1.5 meters this century. That's very roughly a three foot rise, folks. There's a lot of real estate around the world that is three or fewer feet above sea level. And think what a storm could do if oceans were three feet higher than they are now.

Already, low lying places like Miami get some flooding, even occasionally on sunny, storm-free days. Plus when there is a storm, coastal surges are already worse than they would have been decades ago under similar storms, because the oceans are higher.

The ice free Earth video is disturbing, because it shows present day cities like Miami and Mumbai way out over the ocean, far from land areas. Florida itself gets tiny, Italy gets really skinny and Bangledesh all but disappears